Michele Kalmandi

Michele Kalmandi

Barytón

 

 

Michele Kalmandy’s outstanding musical talent was apparent from a very young age. He started playing the piano at the age of 6, soon thereafter began learning the classical guitar as well, and later also experimented with other instruments. Kalmandy was only 24 when he graduated from the G. Dhima Music Academy Cluj-Napoca performing the title role of Verdi’s Nabucco which has since become one of his signature roles. Improving his vocal technique based on the Italian school of singing has remained an important part of his daily routine ever since.

His international career started with an appearance in Trieste’s Teatro Verdi as Nabucco, resulting in numerous invitations to major opera houses, open air stages and concert halls worldwide such as: Teatro dell’Opera Rome, Teatro di San Carlo Naples, Teatro Massimo Bellini Sicily, Vienna (i.a. Musikverein), Tonhalle Zürich, Salzburger Landestheater, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Aalto-Musiktheater Essen, Royal Swedish Opera Stockholm, Göteborg Opera, Minnesota Orchestra Hall, Barbican Centre London, Theatre Royal Glasgow, Festival Theatre Edinburgh, Free Trade Hall Manchester, Grand Théatre Bordeaux, Valencia Opera, Teatr Wielki Warsaw, Mikhailovsky Theater Sankt Petersburg, Státní Opera Prague, Perth Concert Hall, Savonlinna Opera Festival, Sala Sao Paulo, New Zealand Opera Wellington, Beijing Opera House, Seoul Opera House, etc. Throughout this time he was always singing a broad repertoire of leading baritone roles at the Hungarian State Opera in Budapest as well.

Kalmandy has worked with renowned conductors such as Tiziano Severini, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Pier Giorgio Morandi, Fabrizio Maria Carminati, János Ács, Ervin Lukács, Christian Badea and Kent Nagano to name just a few. The list of directors includes such internationally acclaimed names as Pier Alli, Hugo De Ana, Gianfranco De Bosio, Beppe De Tommasi, Giorgio Pressburger, Stefano Vizioli, Stefano Poda, Bernard Broca, Antoine Selva, Vaclav Veznik, Olivier Tambosi and Aniara Amos. His most important partners on stage were, among others: Éva Marton, Edita Gruberova, Hanna Lisowska, Sylvia Sass, Ildikó Komlósi, Norma Fantini, Patrizia Ciofi, Csilla Boross, Placido Domingo, José Cura, Piotr Beczala, Ferruccio Furlanetto and Yevgeny Nesterenko.

For his artistic achievements Kalmandy was awarded the title Kammersänger at the end of the theatrical season 2012/13. In spring 2015, the audience chose him as a new member of the Society of Immortal Artists, an honour which resulted in his footprint being immortalised in the pavement of Budapest’s theatre district.

Kalmandy’s performances – from his very first steps on stage up until today – have been met with enthusiastic international critical acclaim. Reviews highlight his richly coloured voice, brilliant singing technique, charismatic presence and convincing acting that add up to a lasting aesthetic experience imprinted in the memory of his audience.